Q: What’s
all this about a high-speed rail line, and how does it affect Houston
neighborhoods?A.
A private company, TCP, is planning a
high-speed rail line connecting Dallas to Houston.Some of the routes initially under consideration would have
routed the line through existing Houston neighborhoods in order to reach
downtown.Although current plans
no longer envision the train going all the way downtown, so that
neighborhoods are no longer under imminent threat, there is always the
possibility that this scenario could arise again in the future.

Q: There are already freight train lines
running through these neighborhoods.Why would putting in a high-speed rail train be
any worse?

A. High-speed trains can’t run on conventional
rails; they require specialized infrastructure.According to TCP, this infrastructure would be elevated and
enclosed for security and to avoid at-grade crossings; the platform
would be 40 or so feet high, with overhead catenary-system
superstructure adding another 20 feet or so of height.For bidirectional service, right of way of about 80 feet is
required.Note also that the
high-speed rail system would be in addition to, not instead of, the
existing freight lines, which would have to continue to run either next
to or below the HSR track.
Installation of this massive infrastructure would be devastating to a
residential neighborhood, with loss of character and property values a
certain result.

Q: Why all the fuss?I thought the Washington Corridor, at least the
eastern end of it, was all industrial.

A: That may have been true to a significant degree
years ago, but it is certainly not the case now.The area’s proximity to downtown has led to a great deal of
redevelopment and revitalization in the last 10 years, with considerable
new residential construction on or near the freight-rail line.The old Riviana rice plant has been shuttered, and that land is
also slated to be redeveloped.Several large commercial and institutional spaces have been
converted to artists’ studios or live/work spaces.The area’s thriving art community, reflected in its recent
designation as a state cultural district, has made the area a rising cultural
hub within Houston.

Q: Houston needs more public transportation, not
less.Why would you oppose
high-speed rail?

A: What we oppose is the decimation of
thriving
neighborhoods.We don’t
necessarily oppose the Dallas-Houston high-speed rail line per se.That said, the line will probably be much less beneficial to
Houston than many people reflexively suppose.With no stops along the way, and high fares (comparable to
airfare according to TCP), all it does is provide another transportation
alternative to the very small percentage of people in the region who
travel between Houston and Dallas for business.Other modes of public transportation would be much more
beneficial to Houstonians as a whole.

Q: So what are you advocating?A.
We have not taken a position either for or against the high-speed rail
line itself.But if the line is
built:
•

Connectivity from the station at 290/610 to downtown is needed.

•
Neighborhoods must have a seat at the table as this connectivity is planned.
•

Coordination with the various agencies (such as TxDOT) is essential.
• Under no circumstances should HSR infrastructure
be placed in neighborhoods.

Q: Why are you proposing that the line should end
around 610 and 290?We need
the line to go downtown.

A: According to figures from the Department of
Labor, only 5% of jobs in Houston are in the downtown area.That means if the station were placed downtown, most riders would
need to travel from there to some other location.So rather than alleviating congestion, the train would be likely
to make it worse.With the
other business hubs in Houston (such as the Energy Corridor, Uptown, and
Greenway Plaza) located mostly to the west, it makes sense to locate the
station west of downtown to be closer to the center of business activity in Houston.

Q: What’s the difference between the high-speed rail train and the
Texas Bullet Train?

A:
They
are the same thing.“High-speed
rail” is a general term that applies to many such projects around the
world.Initially, TCP referred to
its project as the “Dallas-Houston High-Speed Rail” project.More recently, they have rechristened it the “Texas Bullet
Train”.